Going Green
Explains the theories and purposes behind the green movement in the United States while profiling celebrities who live truly green lives and promote the cause.

Plaxico Burress: Victim or Criminal?
Covers the controversial event in which Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg at a nightclub while in illegal possession of a handgun. It looks at the facts from two perspectives and allows students to form individual opinions about the event.

Love or Abuse?
Involves the story of Chris Brown and Rihanna's alleged domestic dispute and looks at the very real dating violence problem in America.

CSI
Weaves a compelling tale and asks students to use the power of deduction to solve the fictional murder mystery. Students use investigative notes to sort through the facts.

Addict
Chronicles the story of Josh Hamilton, a baseball player who had it all, lost it with drugs and alcohol, and then worked his way back to sobriety and Major League fame.

Female Athletes
Notes the rise in popularity of women's sports and takes a look at the debate surrounding female athletes who try to increase their popularity through other activities, such as modeling and endorsements.

Band for the Ages
Examines the success secrets of four bands and artists that have maintained their popularity for decades, as well as the progression of music technology over the past 30 years.

Technology in Sports
Explores the advances in technology and sports medicine that have greatly impacted the world of sports and questions the fairness of some of those advances.

Celebrity Rehab
Looks at the celebrity drug epidemic in the context of the television show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, showing why some celebrities fall into the trap of addiction and the difficulty of overcoming addiction.

Street Racing
Explains the appeal, legal consequences, and ultimate dangers of illegal street racing, including how video games and movies like Fast and Furious impact the risks that teens are willing to take on the street.

^PWImpact! books integrate reading, writing, text comprehension, vocabulary development, higher-order thinking, ethical dilemmas, and character development through high-interest texts, technical informational texts, and vocational informational texts. Lexile measurements are provided for all articles to aid readers and educators in determining appropriate difficulty levels. Book 5i our intervention book is written a lower Lexile range for students reading between a 4^th – 6^th grade level, Book 5.1 is written at an approximate middle school Lexile level, and Book 5.2 is written at an approximate high school Lexile level.

Original Texts

Each of the 10 units has three original Lexiled texts. The heart of the unit revolves around the high-interest text, which appoints a particular focus related to current events. This text presents a topic that piques students’ interest and stirs them to think critically from a character education perspective. The technical and vocational texts are both informational and relate directly to the high-interest text. These informational texts allow students to relate to and interpret a different type of writing than the somewhat informal prose of the high-interest text.

Interpreting the Data

Each unit includes an Interpreting the Data section that directly relates to the high-interest topic. Interpreting the Data gives students practice manipulating, analyzing, and interpreting numbers, put into real-world perspective though the lens of character education. Short- and extended-response questions give students the opportunity to merge mathematical and verbal skills.

Reading Instructional Guides

Each unit includes two Reading Instructional Guides in the Teacher’s Book, one that supports the high-interest text and one that supports the technical informational text. The purpose of the instructional guides is to aid students in before, during, and after reading strategies. Before Reading strategies addressed include Front-Loading Background Knowledge through Read Aloud/Think Aloud, Looking at Words, an Anticipation Guide, and Starter Questions. During Reading strategies are addressed though a Reading Strategy Sheet/Graphic Organizer. After Reading strategies are addressed though Discussion Starter Questions based on the articles.

Text Comprehension Assessments

Each of the 10 units has two text comprehension assessments, one testing the high-interest text and one testing the technical text. The questions are consistently based on specific standards with question stems similar to those frequently used on state assessment exams. The comprehension questions cover four broad categories: Words and Phrases, Main Idea/Author’s Purpose, Compare and Contrast/Cause and Effect, and Reference and Research.

Writing Assessments

Each of the 10 units provides writing assessments that foster higher order thinking skills. Reflect and Respond is an extended-response question encouraging students to process what they have learned from the Interpreting the Data section in relation to character education. The technical writing prompt allows students to demonstrate understanding of the technical text and practice an extended response that uses effective technical writing skills. Looking Forward and the Ethical Dilemma are extended responses based on the vocational text. Looking Forward allows students to explore areas of interest for their future, including how to prepare for a future career. The Ethical Dilemma encourages students to contemplate difficult, real-world situations and make ethical decisions. Each of these writing assessments is evaluated by a rubric found in the back of the books.

Unit Assessments

In addition to the text comprehension and writing assessments, each unit includes a Unit Vocabulary Assessment and a Unit Authentic Assessment. The Vocabulary Assessment tests mastery of the vocabulary identified in the Reading Instructional Guides corresponding to the high-interest and technical texts. The Authentic Assessment asks students to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate knowledge gained from the unit and its relevance to their lives. Each Authentic Assessment is evaluated by a rubric.

Rubrics

The rubrics in the back of the books list the criteria for each corresponding assessment. Rubrics are designed to help teachers evaluate student work and to give students advance direction and clear markers for mastering the assignment. Each rubric specifies what is expected for various levels of quality of work.

The Book on CD includes the complete teacher and student versions of the book at each level.
Order includes a hardcopy of Book 5.2, 5.1 and 5i teacher and student books for reference.